Voiceovers And How To Stop Guessing – The Not Silent Blog 4/4/17

Recently, I narrated the self-help audio book “Stop Guessing“. I genuinely enjoy every book I narrate (at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it) but this one had some really intriguing, applicable notions. Here’s a SoundCloud clip to get an idea of what the book is about:

How can you apply the ability to stop guessing to your voiceover business?

To quote the great philosopher James T. Kirk, “You have to learn why things work on a star-ship.” Why does your voiceover business function (or not function) the way it does? Do you truly understand its inner workings?

TIP OF THE WEEK

Let’s put this into practice with a basic question: why aren’t you getting more voiceover work?

In other words: why isn’t the machine that is your voiceover business working as well as you’d like it to?

Machines tend to be complex and have many moving parts. Some are built better than others. To figure out what’s flawed about your machine, ask specific questions and dig into what’s relevant. BTW, your audition booking ratio is not relevant!

Here are some specific questions you can ask in terms of the five areas of your voiceover business:

Cash Flow: Are you investing enough in your business?

Tools: Do you have effective tools? (demo, website, etc.)

Technique: Do you have enough skill and quality training in the genres you’re currently pursuing?

Marketing: Are your brand, social media presence, and people skills effective?

Health: Are you thinking and executing like a business?

Notice how often the word effective keeps popping up. Effective as in ‘successful in producing a desired or intended result’. Just because you have a demo doesn’t necessarily mean it’s effective. If parts of your machine aren’t effective, it won’t work! Isolate the problems and fix them.

NEWS AND NOTES

Here’s another Madballs video I narrated starring the ever-lovin’ Hornhead and two adorable kids. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDL9q7Y34v4&t

I started narrating “Breaking Through Gridlock“, a fascinating self-help book about using the power of conversation in a polarized world. The print version goes on sale May 22nd.

VO Strategist News!

It’s “Any 2” April! Book any two sessions with me in April and you get 25% off each session. Go to www.VOStrategist.com to choose from my selection of sessions or make up your own.

My next Edge Studio “Business And Money 201” webinar will be Thursday, April 20 @8PM EST. The subject: Paperwork. We’re going to talk about how to use paper, digital, and cloud-based bookkeeping in harmony. Click here to register.

Contest! To celebrate the release of “Stop Guessing”, the first three folks who email me will win a free copy!

HAPPY HAPPYS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

From my village to yours; this is Tom Dheere, The H is Silent, but I’m Not.

Tom Dheere is a 20-year veteran of the voice over industry who has narrated thousands of projects for clients in over a dozen countries. He is also a coach at Edge Studio, voiceover business consultant known as the Voice OverStrategist, and is currently producing the comic book “Agent 1.22”.